WEEK 1: Person A- Amanda Person B- Jena Person C- Jena Person D- Lauren
Person A:
The main characters in this book would be Gail Caldwell, and Caroline Knapp. For only reading the first 38 pages of this book, we decided that we like it so far. We heard some of the other groups didn’t like it, but we think it I a cute book. Gail and Caroline are both writers who love life and have a common interest in dogs. Gail and Caroline worked together, so this is where they met each other. They became so close that they did everything together. They would always share secrets and soon they became inseparable. There relationship is so strong that they act like sisters. Another reason they became friends is because they share a common addiction of cigarettes and alcohol.
Person B: “It’s and old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that, too.” Pg. 4 Narrator “’No, you’re not,” said Caroline, her face as deadpan as a coach’s in a losing season." Pg. 4 Narrator/Caroline “Finding Caroline was like placing a personal ad for an imaginary friend, then having her show up at your door funnier and better than you had conceived.” Pg. 13 Narrator.
Person C: 1. What do you think the theme of this book is so far? -The theme of this book so far is friendship. 2. How do you think Gail and Caroline are such good friends even though their ages are so far apart? -They are such good friends because they have so many common interests. It's almost like they are the same person. 3. What were some common things that Caroline and Gail had in common? -Some things that they have in common, would be how they both love dogs, and they both had a severe addiction to alcohol.
Person D:
Our book club really enjoyed our reading of the first 5th of this novel. It seems like a really good and interesting book that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. We think that this book was a lot better than the other one so far. Hopefully it just keeps getting better and better. We feel as it goes on it might get more sad.
We discussed that we love how it is a true story and not fiction. This sad story really happened and could happen to any one. The last book we read was mystery and we turned out not liking it so much. So we went for a sad novel this time. We hope we continue on with enjoying what we read.
WEEK 2: Person A- Lauren Person B- Amanda Person C- Amanda Person D- Jena
Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? The type of language in our book is conversational and easy to read. The author wrote as if she were talking to us as friends. It is called her memoir. The vocabulary in this book isn't hard. There might be a couple of words sometimes that I don't understand but you can tell what they mean by the rest of the sentence. I think the age level the book is 9th and 10th graders. I think so because to understand this book fully you must understand the idea of friendship and the true meaning. Growing up has to do with understanding friendship therefore this book is good for 9th and 10th graders.
Person B: "The writing was the life force, and the whiskey was the snake int he grass. For as long as i could, i chose them both." Gail page 52. "In my family, i used to say, if alcoholism or suicide doesn't get you, you'll live forever."Gail page 49. "Each day i made a contract not to drink, but every night around nine or ten, i'd broken it again" Gail page 61.
Person C: 1. Why do you think the police only arrested the people in the park with dogs for going on private property? -I think the police only arrested the people with dogs because they didn't like dogs. 2. What do you think was the "breaking point" in Gail's life where she felt the need to get help with her addiction to alcohol? -The breaking point was when everything just began going bad and she almost died. She got herself into a lot of trouble when she drank way to much one day. She just finally decided it was time to stop. 3.Do you think Gail will stay sober after all the work she has succeeded at already? Why or why not? -Yes i think she will stay sober after all the work. She has gone through enough and is not done.
Person D: This week in book club we read from page 38-78. So far this book has been very good. In the section that we read this week Gail went into more description about her alcohol problem and how she over come it. She talked about her therapy meetings, her AA meetings, the first time she drank, and many other experiences she had with drinking. This section was very good and i am excited to read more.
WEEK 3:
Person A- Jena Person B- Lauren Person C- Lauren Person D- Amanda
Person A: The mood of the book is sad and depressing. When Gail talks about her old alcohol problems the tone is sad because she is upset with her past. The tone is also sad when she talks about her friend Caroline because she is now dead.
Person B:
“I think back now to the small measures of trust gained in that first year of the friendship, the ways we went from mutual caution to inseparable ease, and so much of it now seems like a careful, even silent exchange.”
“Caroline too had been beholden to the commanding presence of her psychoanalyst father, and had been hurt in relationships with men.”
“As usual, Caroline got a column out of that evening’s epiphany- the merry recluse became a character in her print chronicle of her own fears.”
Person C:
1. Do you think there friendship was true and trustworthy? Why or why not? -Yes there friendship was definitely true and trustworthy. They shared secrets and stayed friends until the day Caroline died. They went for walks with there dogs and had that in common. 2. Do you have a friend like this? Explain. -Yes i do have a friend like this. And i hope we are friends like them until we die and are as close as they are. 3. If you had a friend that wasn’t trustworthy, how would you deal with the situation? - I would not tell them any thing and wouldn't trust them. They definitely would not be my close friend.
Person D:
This week in class we talked about sad this book is. Even though we thought it was going to be a book about a girl with a best friend, we read that she has a lot of problems. We also talked about how having a friend like this would make our lives so much easier. It's hard to find someone with so many things in common with you. We all have friends, but some we connect with more because we have been through so much with them. Now that Gail had stopped drinking, her life has improved so much. She is so happy that she chose to stop and almost "re-live" her life. And through this time, her and Caroline have became even closer. If that's possible.
Week 4 Person A: Amanda Person B: Jena Person C: Jena Person D: Lauren
Person A:
Some of the themes and images that this book contains would be friendship. You never know whom you could become friends with but if you give it a shot you can end up with a best friend for life. Like Gail and Caroline, you could stumble upon your best friend and not even know what will happen in the future. They had this connection between them. Some images that could be in this book would be love too. Love can be used in this book because most of Gail’s life revolves around the things that’s eh loves most. One would be her dogs, her best friend Caroline, and drinking. The author tries to convey her meaning by showing the readers that even though you feel you can’t get through a rough time, there is always that one person who knows you almost as good as you know yourself. The two best friends in this book have a deep connection with a each other.
Person B:
“But as much as I complained about my solitude, I also required id. I out a high price on my freedom from obligation, of having to report to no one.” –Narrator (Gail) Pg. 107
“The world appears with ferocious technicolor during crisis, and a decade later, I remember the visual arc of my body airborne, my sight line about 2 feet higher than normal.” - Narrator (Gail) Pg. 111
“It’s take me years for me to understand that dying doesn’t end the story’ it transforms it. Edits, rewrites, the blur and epiphany of one-way dialogue.” - Narrator (Gail) Pg. 123
Person C:
1. How do you like the book so far? -The book is boring and is hard to read. 2. What kind of things can you learn from this book? -This book shows how to be a good friend. 3. Do you think that Gail and Caroline's relationship was more than a friendship? -Gail and Caroline are more like sisters rather than friends.
Person D: Today in book club we talked about the book, the part that we read this week. Jena was not here today so Amanda and I just talked about it. We didn’t have questions to answer from person B or quotes to look at from person C. This book club this week was successful though even with just us two. We did talk about the question of the week though and we answered and discussed what we thought. What we talked about was the theme and images of the book so far. This book had gotten worse and more boring to read. We usually fall asleep after reading the section. Next time we hope to pick a book that we actually like. At first this book seemed good and all but now Amanda and I dislike it. Not sure about Jena though.
Person A: Lauren Person B: Amanda Person C: Amanda Person D: Jena
Person A: Would you recommend it to peers?
I definitely wouldn't recommend this peers. This book started out okay but then it got very boring. This book sometimes even put me to sleep. It does teach a life lesson though. This book shows true friendship. It doesn't show it very well but it still shows how you should always have hope to have a best friend. In other books it is showed more and better. They didn't meet until they were old and before that they were lonely. They bonded so quickly because they were so much alike. They shared a great love for dogs and they met by walking there dogs. This book was boring but did have some good features to it. This book should not be considered for school curriculum because if we don't like it and the other groups don't like it either it must not be an interesting book.
Person B:
"Grief is what tells you who you are alone."
"... I'd confused need with love and love with sacrifice."
"In all the years I had blundered along in search of my own footing, she had never given me an inkling of this wish. Unburdened by the demands of history or anyone else's dreams, I had wandered toward and finally reached a world far outside the plains I loved and loathed. My mother had neither begrudged me this journey nor expected it, certain that I had to make my own way. But she packed my toolbox with her great wit and forbearance before I went, and she stashed there, for long safekeeping, her desire."
Person C:
1. How did Caroline and Gails friendship change through out the book?
-They got closer and closer and they would share more memories and have weird relationships with there dogs all the time...
2. Was the ending anything like you thought it would turn out?
-We knew the ending was that Caroline died from the start. So it wasn't anything not expectible.
3. If there was another book after this, what do you think it would be about?
-The book would be about Gail making a new friend and getting married and getting over the fact that she lost her best pal.
Person D Today was the last book club for this book. Lauren was person A, Amanda was person B and person C, and I was person D. We talked about how much we hated the book. Amanda said she wanted to stab her eyeballs out. Lauren said she thought it was terrible. I think that the book was very boring and had no meaning. We are very happy that we are done reading this book. Today we also looked over our whole book club page to make sure that it was perfect because our teacher is grading the whole thing this weekend. We made sure that all the words were the same size and font. We made sure that every week was in the same format and that every week was completed. Then we were finished with book club for the day.
Person A- Amanda
Person B- Jena
Person C- Jena
Person D- Lauren
Person A:
The main characters in this book would be Gail Caldwell, and Caroline Knapp. For only reading the first 38 pages of this book, we decided that we like it so far. We heard some of the other groups didn’t like it, but we think it I a cute book. Gail and Caroline are both writers who love life and have a common interest in dogs. Gail and Caroline worked together, so this is where they met each other. They became so close that they did everything together. They would always share secrets and soon they became inseparable. There relationship is so strong that they act like sisters. Another reason they became friends is because they share a common addiction of cigarettes and alcohol.
Person B:
“It’s and old story: I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that, too.” Pg. 4 Narrator
“’No, you’re not,” said Caroline, her face as deadpan as a coach’s in a losing season." Pg. 4 Narrator/Caroline
“Finding Caroline was like placing a personal ad for an imaginary friend, then having her show up at your door funnier and better than you had conceived.” Pg. 13 Narrator.
Person C:
1. What do you think the theme of this book is so far?
-The theme of this book so far is friendship.
2. How do you think Gail and Caroline are such good friends even though their ages are so far apart?
-They are such good friends because they have so many common interests. It's almost like they are the same person.
3. What were some common things that Caroline and Gail had in common?
-Some things that they have in common, would be how they both love dogs, and they both had a severe addiction to alcohol.
Person D:
Our book club really enjoyed our reading of the first 5th of this novel. It seems like a really good and interesting book that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. We think that this book was a lot better than the other one so far. Hopefully it just keeps getting better and better. We feel as it goes on it might get more sad.
We discussed that we love how it is a true story and not fiction. This sad story really happened and could happen to any one. The last book we read was mystery and we turned out not liking it so much. So we went for a sad novel this time. We hope we continue on with enjoying what we read.
WEEK 2:
Person A- Lauren
Person B- Amanda
Person C- Amanda
Person D- Jena
Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why?
The type of language in our book is conversational and easy to read. The author wrote as if she were talking to us as friends. It is called her memoir. The vocabulary in this book isn't hard. There might be a couple of words sometimes that I don't understand but you can tell what they mean by the rest of the sentence. I think the age level the book is 9th and 10th graders. I think so because to understand this book fully you must understand the idea of friendship and the true meaning. Growing up has to do with understanding friendship therefore this book is good for 9th and 10th graders.
Person B:
"The writing was the life force, and the whiskey was the snake int he grass. For as long as i could, i chose them both." Gail page 52.
"In my family, i used to say, if alcoholism or suicide doesn't get you, you'll live forever."Gail page 49.
"Each day i made a contract not to drink, but every night around nine or ten, i'd broken it again" Gail page 61.
Person C:
1. Why do you think the police only arrested the people in the park with dogs for going on private property?
-I think the police only arrested the people with dogs because they didn't like dogs.
2. What do you think was the "breaking point" in Gail's life where she felt the need to get help with her addiction to alcohol?
-The breaking point was when everything just began going bad and she almost died. She got herself into a lot of trouble when she drank way to much one day. She just finally decided it was time to stop.
3.Do you think Gail will stay sober after all the work she has succeeded at already? Why or why not?
-Yes i think she will stay sober after all the work. She has gone through enough and is not done.
Person D:
This week in book club we read from page 38-78. So far this book has been very good. In the section that we read this week Gail went into more description about her alcohol problem and how she over come it. She talked about her therapy meetings, her AA meetings, the first time she drank, and many other experiences she had with drinking. This section was very good and i am excited to read more.
WEEK 3:
Person A- Jena
Person B- Lauren
Person C- Lauren
Person D- Amanda
Person A:
The mood of the book is sad and depressing. When Gail talks about her old alcohol problems the tone is sad because she is upset with her past. The tone is also sad when she talks about her friend Caroline because she is now dead.
Person B:
Person C:
1. Do you think there friendship was true and trustworthy? Why or why not?
-Yes there friendship was definitely true and trustworthy. They shared secrets and stayed friends until the day Caroline died. They went for walks with there dogs and had that in common.
2. Do you have a friend like this? Explain.
-Yes i do have a friend like this. And i hope we are friends like them until we die and are as close as they are.
3. If you had a friend that wasn’t trustworthy, how would you deal with the situation?
- I would not tell them any thing and wouldn't trust them. They definitely would not be my close friend.
Person D:
This week in class we talked about sad this book is. Even though we thought it was going to be a book about a girl with a best friend, we read that she has a lot of problems. We also talked about how having a friend like this would make our lives so much easier. It's hard to find someone with so many things in common with you. We all have friends, but some we connect with more because we have been through so much with them. Now that Gail had stopped drinking, her life has improved so much. She is so happy that she chose to stop and almost "re-live" her life. And through this time, her and Caroline have became even closer. If that's possible.
Week 4
Person A: Amanda
Person B: Jena
Person C: Jena
Person D: Lauren
Person A:
Some of the themes and images that this book contains would be friendship. You never know whom you could become friends with but if you give it a shot you can end up with a best friend for life. Like Gail and Caroline, you could stumble upon your best friend and not even know what will happen in the future. They had this connection between them. Some images that could be in this book would be love too. Love can be used in this book because most of Gail’s life revolves around the things that’s eh loves most. One would be her dogs, her best friend Caroline, and drinking. The author tries to convey her meaning by showing the readers that even though you feel you can’t get through a rough time, there is always that one person who knows you almost as good as you know yourself. The two best friends in this book have a deep connection with a each other.
Person B:
“But as much as I complained about my solitude, I also required id. I out a high price on my freedom from obligation, of having to report to no one.” –Narrator (Gail) Pg. 107
“The world appears with ferocious technicolor during crisis, and a decade later, I remember the visual arc of my body airborne, my sight line about 2 feet higher than normal.” - Narrator (Gail) Pg. 111
“It’s take me years for me to understand that dying doesn’t end the story’ it transforms it. Edits, rewrites, the blur and epiphany of one-way dialogue.” - Narrator (Gail) Pg. 123
Person C:
1. How do you like the book so far?
-The book is boring and is hard to read.
2. What kind of things can you learn from this book?
-This book shows how to be a good friend.
3. Do you think that Gail and Caroline's relationship was more than a friendship?
-Gail and Caroline are more like sisters rather than friends.
Person D:
Today in book club we talked about the book, the part that we read this week. Jena was not here today so Amanda and I just talked about it. We didn’t have questions to answer from person B or quotes to look at from person C. This book club this week was successful though even with just us two. We did talk about the question of the week though and we answered and discussed what we thought. What we talked about was the theme and images of the book so far.
This book had gotten worse and more boring to read. We usually fall asleep after reading the section. Next time we hope to pick a book that we actually like. At first this book seemed good and all but now Amanda and I dislike it. Not sure about Jena though.
Person A: Lauren
Person B: Amanda
Person C: Amanda
Person D: Jena
Person A:
Would you recommend it to peers?
I definitely wouldn't recommend this peers. This book started out okay but then it got very boring. This book sometimes even put me to sleep. It does teach a life lesson though. This book shows true friendship. It doesn't show it very well but it still shows how you should always have hope to have a best friend. In other books it is showed more and better. They didn't meet until they were old and before that they were lonely. They bonded so quickly because they were so much alike. They shared a great love for dogs and they met by walking there dogs. This book was boring but did have some good features to it. This book should not be considered for school curriculum because if we don't like it and the other groups don't like it either it must not be an interesting book.
Person B:
"Grief is what tells you who you are alone."
"... I'd confused need with love and love with sacrifice."
"In all the years I had blundered along in search of my own footing, she had never given me an inkling of this wish. Unburdened by the demands of history or anyone else's dreams, I had wandered toward and finally reached a world far outside the plains I loved and loathed. My mother had neither begrudged me this journey nor expected it, certain that I had to make my own way. But she packed my toolbox with her great wit and forbearance before I went, and she stashed there, for long safekeeping, her desire."
Person C:
1. How did Caroline and Gails friendship change through out the book?
-They got closer and closer and they would share more memories and have weird relationships with there dogs all the time...2. Was the ending anything like you thought it would turn out?
-We knew the ending was that Caroline died from the start. So it wasn't anything not expectible.3. If there was another book after this, what do you think it would be about?
-The book would be about Gail making a new friend and getting married and getting over the fact that she lost her best pal.Person D
Today was the last book club for this book. Lauren was person A, Amanda was person B and person C, and I was person D. We talked about how much we hated the book. Amanda said she wanted to stab her eyeballs out. Lauren said she thought it was terrible. I think that the book was very boring and had no meaning. We are very happy that we are done reading this book.
Today we also looked over our whole book club page to make sure that it was perfect because our teacher is grading the whole thing this weekend. We made sure that all the words were the same size and font. We made sure that every week was in the same format and that every week was completed. Then we were finished with book club for the day.